Immersion freediving review

[freedivinggirl]

Hey. Has anyone here ever taken classes with Ted Harty from Immersion Freediving? I just came back from Ft. Lauderdale Florida. I was aching to be in the water, and living in snowy NY, there is obviously no diving to be had. I decided to book a weekend diving with him and I had such an amazing time.

I was debating at first if I should go down and work with PFI, but I went with Ted because he is PFI trained and has the sweetest setup. He runs all classes poolside out of his house, and has his own private boat. He only takes five people max at a time, so it's really intimate. No logistical nightmare. No rushing around. Totally mellow. Tons of dive time. It was awesome. In fact, I'd like to go back down and take some private courses all winter, and always looking for travel buddies who might be game.

I had some real bad habits going down, with my entry and my form, and Ted was really good at giving me tips and smoothing out my dives. I still need a ton of work, and I'm thinking of making multiple trips to have Ted train me. I could really see it helping both my freediving and my spearing.

There was this spearguy out there with us who increased his breath hold over a minute and dove 100 ft in only three days after previously never have gotten even close to that. He nailed it.

It was hard to get back on the airplane after a gorgeous weekend like that. Especially now that I'm sitting at my desk at work missing the blue.

Kelly

[Powers]

Ted is a great instructor and I'm glad you had a good time. Ted was one of my instructors when I went through PFI and he definitely takes it very seriously and has a true love of teaching. I am hoping to get a session in with him on our way out the Bahamas this year.

Keep up the good work, Ted.

Will

[SteveK]

I can't say enough good things about Ted. He wasn't my PFI instructor but I have trained with him. A great diver and very conscious of what is going on with a regards to your form in the water and safety, as all the PFI instructors are from my experience. Ted is personable and not patronizing or condescending he makes you feel welcome and comfortable. Ted's the bomb!

[macsub]

Ted is a great freediver and instructor and a great guy too. I would recommend his classes to anyone.

[ImmersionFD]

Here is the latest course video.

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[SpearMax]

That is a really nicely done video that shows results.

The music was great.

Keep up the good work Ted.

[AndrewGrooper]

Oh yea Ted is the man! He really enjoys what he does for a living and that helps soo much with teaching and learning such an intense sport like freediving. Keep up the good work Ted and good luck to all that takes the class!

[ImmersionFD]

Here are the testimonials from the students I worked with last weekend.

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[Richie Rich]

Just got back from my course with Immersion Freediving and have one thing to say, Had an AWESOME time!!!! It was the best thing I ever did. I went down to Florida to see Ted Harty first hand, I had heard alot about him from fellow freedivers and spearfisherman. Let me tell you as a spearfisherman I have about ten years under my belt and I thought I was doing it right, I was doing it wrong and unsafe Ted Harty showed me the right way, he's an ACE instuctor! So for all of you thinking about freediving or spearfishing or both, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you contact Immersion Freediving and talk to Ted Harty. And for those who are freedivers and spearfisherman, you want to be better and safer, call Ted Harty. You can't go wrong!!!!! Look at it this way he's a Freediving U.S. National record holder and some of his students are looking to break his record. And I can't wait to get back to Immersion freediving for more training!!

[ImmersionFD]

Richard,

I"m glad you enjoyed the course. Looking forward to seeing what you can do in the intermediate. We both know you got ALOT more in you. I enjoy seeing a long time spearo like yourself open to trying things a different way. I think you found that, hey those crazy competitive freedivers have some good ideas about spearfishing.

I've sent an email out with the link to my media server so you can download all of the footage from the course. Have fun training with the crew now that you are certified.

Thanks for the new york shirt, I"ll be sure to wear it when I come visit.

If you look at the picture the only person who was cold in the ocean and the pool was the only person not wearing an Immersion Rec 45. When ever you ready Richard I'll take that wetsuit order!

[MeTo]

I went down to take the Intermediate course 3-15 to 3-18. It was great,so much Info to take in I don't know where to start. Alright how about here,take your Bonine one hour before you leave the dock, seas were 2-4 the first day on the ocean and I lost two and a half hours of a three hour ocean session because I was on the boat dealing with some bad issues (it got to dry heaving after 30mins) all I was able to do that day was a 5m and 10m pull down. The second day went better with 2-3 seas and good med timing and the third day was great with 1-2 seas. So I can't stress this enough if you get sea sick make sure you time every thing correct, this was a very intense course. I have been Freedive Spearfishing for 6 years and dive 30-55ft in all kinds of conditions in Connecticut and Rhode Island and this course kicked my but. Also you spend alot of time head down so heart burn can be another issue to deal with.
Ok so after reading that you must be thinking how could that be great, two names: Immersion FreeDiving and Ted Harty. His company has nailed it! Ted was in the water for three days with five students and was always pleasant and professional, even when I was throwing up in his face. He is great at conveying information in dynamic situations. He was just fun to be around, making you confident that you can do what is asked of you. My first pull down to 20m and I'm on the surface thinking you want me to do this slow! I did what he said and I felt, great deepest I've ever been.
I signed up for this course to "Dive deeper,Longer and Safer" and that is exactly what happened, you can't ask for a better return on your investment. Ted was able to coach me through all the steps to do this. He made me realize that when I spearfish I wasn't doing things as safe as I could. He showed me how to correct my technique to be more efficent. It was a fun experiance and I know that had I done the full ocean session I would have made the depth that I came to the course do.
At the end of the course I had a 3:15 static in the pool,something I never have done prior to this course,as all static prior were done by myself lying on my bed out of the water. I did a 20m dive in 41sec and I learned a ton of safty and problem management.
As an avid spearfishman I encourage all of us to take a Freediving course of some kind,weather it is with PFI,FII or Immersion Freediving come with an open mind ready to learn.
That being said,of the companys I contacted Immersion called me in hours after contact and began to talk to me about what the best course for me was,what the best hotel to use was and how he will get me to the course from my hotel. The other guys E-mailed me weeks after contact. You saw where I spent my hard earned money, this was a big expense for me and I wanted the best experiance I could afford. Immersion FreeDiving and Ted Harty gave me that and then some.
Ted, I would like to thank you for making my first Freediving course experiance such a positive event. I say first because you will see me again, you have earned my buisness and proven that you take this stuff to heart.
Thank you.
Mike CT spearo

[ImmersionFD]

Micheal,

Glad you enjoyed the class so much. You were a trooper to keep getting back in the water after the first day. LIke I said there is only ONE bodily function on a boat that bothers me and puking is not one of them.

Was happy to be able to save you guys from renting a car and provide transportation. I look forward to seeing you again and let me know how the next spearfishing trip goes.

Dive safe!

[smellsfishy]

Ted rocks ! Looking forward to my upcoming training session with him.

[ImmersionFD]

Here is the video from the Immersion Freediving March 22nd course and the students video testimonial.

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[HappySpear]

I would like to congratulate Ted for his amazing skillls, not only as a freediver, but as a teacher. I just finished my class last Sunday. I was very impressed by his patience and perseverance towards his students. I don't wanna talk about the class 'cause is pretty clear to most people that is excellent. Ted is a natural teacher, he doesn't give up on you. Everything went smoothly. I highly encourage those spearos out there, please take the course. More that improving your freediving skills, you'll be able to be safer diver and, even better, you will know how to safe your buddy when things get ugly out there.